Questions

ADV: Trigonometry (Adv), T3 Trig Functions and Graphs (Adv)

Trig Applications (Y12) 1. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 5 MC

Teacher: Denis Vlismas The UV index, , for a summer day in Newcastle East is illustrated in the graph below, where is the
number of hours after 6 am.
Exam Equivalent Time: 63 minutes (based on HSC allocation of 1.5 minutes approx. per
mark)

T3 Trig Functions and Graphs

1% 2% 3%
*Analytics based on the average
Trig Graphs contribution to the 2ADV HSC
Trig Applications exams over the past decade.

The graph is most likely to be the graph of

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTION
T3 Trig Functions and Graphs is a small contributor to past Advanced exams, (A)
accounting for an average of 2.5% of past papers.
This topic has been split into two sub-topics for analysis purposes: 1-Trig Graphs (B)
(1.0%), and 2-Trig Applications (1.5%).
This analysis looks at the sub-topic Trig Applications. (C)

HSC ANALYSIS - What to expect and common pitfalls

(D)
Trig Applications is a very interesting topic area in our view. While only examined 4
times since 2009 (most recently in 2020 in a question worth a whopping 7 marks),
these questions are in the pantheon of great Advanced HSC exam questions during 2. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 13
this period.
On any given day, the depth of water in a river is modelled by the function
While asked infrequently, this topic area nonetheless warrants careful attention. If
tested, history shows that a high difficulty level and substantial mark allocation is
likely.
where is the depth of water, in metres, and is the time, in hours, after 6 am.
i. Find the minimum depth of the water in the river. (1 mark)

ii. Find the values of for which . (2 marks)

3. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 15 7. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 16
The graphs of , where is a real constant, have a point of Sammy visits a giant Ferris wheel. Sammy enters a capsule on the Ferris wheel from a platform
above the ground. The Ferris wheel is rotating anticlockwise. The capsule is attached to the Ferris
intersection at
wheel at point . The height of above the ground, , is modelled by
i. Find the value of . (2 marks) , where is the time in minutes after Sammy enters the capsule and
ii. Find the -coordinate of the other point of intersection of the two graphs, given (1
is measured in metres.
mark)
Sammy exits the capsule after one complete rotation of the Ferris wheel.

4. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2018 HSC 15a

The length of daylight, , is defined as the number of hours from sunrise to sunset, and can be
modelled by the equation
P
,

where is the number of days after 21 December 2015, for .

i. Find the length of daylight on 21 December 2015. (1 mark)

ii. What is the shortest length of daylight? (1 mark)

h
iii. What are the two values of for which the length of daylight is 11? (2 marks)

a capsule
5. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 10
platform
The population of wombats in a particular location varies according to the rule

, where is the number of wombats and is the number of

months after 1 March 2018. i. State the minimum and maximum heights of above the ground. (1 mark)

i. Find the period and amplitude of the function . (2 marks)

ii. For how much time is Sammy in the capsule? (1 mark)

ii. Find the maximum and minimum populations of wombats in this location. (2 marks)
iii. Find the rate of change of with respect to and, hence, state the value of at which the rate of
change of is at its maximum. (2 marks)
iii. Find . (1 mark)

iv. Over the 12 months from 1 March 2018, find the fraction of time when the population of wombats 8. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2011 SPEC1 8
in this location was less than . (2 marks)
Find the coordinates of the points of intersection of the graph of the relation

6. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2013 HSC 13a with the line , for (3 marks)

The population of a herd of wild horses is given by

where is time in months.

i. Find all times during the first 12 months when the population equals 375 horses. (2 marks)

ii. Sketch the graph of for . (2 marks)

9. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2020 HSC 31 Worked Solutions
The population of mice on an isolated island can be modelled by the function.
1. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 5 MC
,

where is the time in weeks and . The population of mice reaches a maximum of 35
000 when and a minimum of 5000 when . The graph of is shown.

a. What are the values of and ? (2 marks)

2. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 13
b. On the same island, the population of cats can be modelled by the function
i.

MARKER'S COMMENT: Students

who used calculus to find the
Consider the graph of and the graph of . minimum were less successful.

Find the values of , for which both populations are increasing. (3 marks)

c. Find the rate of change of the mice population when the cat population reaches a maximum. (2
ii.
marks)

10. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2009 HSC 7b

Between 5 am and 5 pm on 3 March 2009, the height, , of the tide in a harbour was given by

where is in metres and is in hours, with at 5 am.

i. What is the period of the function ? (1 mark)

ii. What was the value of at low tide, and at what time did low tide occur? (2 marks)

iii. A ship is able to enter the harbour only if the height of the tide is at least 1.35 m.
Find all times between 5 am and 5 pm on 3 March 2009 during which the ship was able to enter the
harbour. (3 marks)

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3. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 15 4. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2018 HSC 15a

i. i.

ii.

♦ Mean mark 43%.

ii.

iii.
5. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 10 6. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2013 HSC 13a

i. i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

ii. ♦ Mean mark 39%

7. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 SM-Bank 16 8. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2011 SPEC1 8

i.

ii.

iii.
9. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2020 HSC 31 10. Trigonometry, 2ADV T3 2009 HSC 7b

i.
a.

b.

♦♦ Mean mark part (b) 30%. ii.

IMPORTANT: Using
for a minimum here is very
effective and time efficient. This
property of trig functions is often
very useful in harder questions.

c. iii.

♦♦♦ Mean mark part (c) 27%.

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